TV
TRT World: J.R.R. Tolkien – Literature Showcase
History Channel: Clash of the Gods (2009)
Episode 8: Beowulf (first aired: Monday 28 September 2009)- Episode 9: Tolkien’s Monsters (first aired: Monday 5 October 2009)
- Episode 10: Thor (first aired: Monday 12 October 2009)
Radio
BBC Radio 4: Archive on 4: Our Sacred Story
Saturday 7 November 2020: Contribution to BBC Radio 4 programme Archive on 4, on “Our Sacred Story”, which argues that the Second World War is our modern sacred narrative, as well as underpinning our collective sense of what constitutes good and evil. I talk about Tolkien, Star Wars, the Harry Potter series, and Doctor Who.
Listen to this programme here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000p60n
BBC Radio 4: Archive on 4: Tolkien: The Lost Recordings
Saturday 6 August 2016: Contribution to BBC Radio 4 programme Archive on 4, on “Tolkien: The Lost Recordings”, a reflection on the 1968 BBC film Tolkien in Oxford, revealing some previously unbroadcast scenes, thought lost.
Listen to this programme here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07mvd5z
BBC Radio Wales: Radio Wales Arts Show: “Celebrating Alice”
Wednesday 2 December 2015: Contribution to Radio Wales Arts Show on “Celebrating Alice” on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the publication of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Listen to this programme here:
BBC Radio 4: Woman’s Hour
Monday 2 July 2007: Radio-interview on BBC Radio 4, for the programme Woman’s Hour, on Food in Literature. Interviewed by Ritula Shah, alongside author Mary Contini, who was shortlisted for a World Food book award for her first novel Dear Francesca.
“Interview on the publication of Tolkien’s Beren and Luthien”, BBC Radio Wales: Good Morning Wales, 2 June 2017
“How was The Lord of the Rings influenced by World War One?”, BBC iWonder guide, 2014, original URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zgr9kqt (archived here).
“Why do the Elves in The Hobbit sound Welsh?”, BBC iWonder guide, 2014, original URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z2hthyc (archived here)
Wednesday 11 December 2013: Simon Mayo Drivetime
Radio interview on BBC Radio 2 by Simon Mayo on Tolkien, his sources and the tradition of fantasy literature.
- Listen to this interview:
Thursday 10th October 2012: Deutschlandfunk: Der Zauber magischer Welten
Radio interview on Deutschlandfunk on Tolkien and fantasy literature on the occasion of the Politics of Contemporary Fantasy conference at the University of Wurzburg, Germany (5-7 October 2012), where I gave a keynote lecture (see Presentations).
- Read transcript of this interview (in German)
Tuesday 20 December 2011: BBC Radio Wales: Jamie and Louise Show
Radio interview on BBC Radio Wales for the Jamie and Louise Show on Christmas in folklore and literature: Mari Lwyd, Hunting the Wren, Siôn Corn, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (including its origin: ‘The Story of the Goblins who stole a Sexton’), Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas in Wales, and Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “In Memoriam”.
Monday 14th March 2011: BBC Radio Wales: Jamie and Louise Show
Radio interview on BBC Radio Wales for the Jamie and Louise Show on Fantasy Literature (its origins, cultural context and its place in the literary canon) on the occasion of Royal Mail’s new series of stamps on Magical Realms.
Friday 12th November 2010: BBC Radio Wales: Jamie and Louise Show
Radio interview on BBC Radio Wales for the Jamie and Louise Show on the 7th Harry Potter film (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1), including actor Steffan Rhodri who played Reg Cattermole in the film.
Friday 29th September 2010: BBC Radio Wales: Good Morning Wales
Newspaper Reviews for Good Morning Wales. Stories reviewed: Chatsworth House auction; Great War over for Germany; Pre-Raphaelites: Review of Ashmolean exhibition.
Saturday 19th June 2010: BBC Radio Wales: Good Morning Wales
Newspaper Reviews for Good Morning Wales. Stories reviewed: John Lennon’s manuscript auctioned; Morte d’Arthur performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company; The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter theme park opened.
Friday 4th June 2010: BBC Radio Wales: Good Morning Wales
Radio interview on BBC Radio Wales for the programme Good Morning Wales about my new Tolkien and Fantasy Online Courses at UWIC.
Sunday 1 November 2009: BBC Radio Wales: Good Morning Wales
Newspaper Reviews for Good Morning Wales. Stories reviewed: Restoration of Victoria & Albert museum medieval Trojan War tapestry; exhibition of the Staffordshire Hoard.
Thursday 29 October 2009: BBC Radio Wales: Good Evening Wales
Radio interview on BBC Radio Wales for the programme Good Evening Wales about Festival in the Shire and Tolkien’s Welsh connections and inspiration.
Tuesday 17 February 2009: BBC Radio Wales: Good Evening Wales
Radio interview on BBC Radio Wales for the programme Good Evening Wales on the importance of the classics in English Literature education.
Friday 28 November 2008: BBC Radio Wales: Roy Noble Show
Radio interview on BBC Radio Wales by Roy Noble on my book Tolkien, Race and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits.
Monday 2 July 2007: BBC Radio 4: Woman’s Hour
Radio-interview on BBC Radio 4, for the programme Woman’s Hour, on Food in Literature.
Friday 20 July 2007: BBC Radio Wales: Good Evening Wales
Radio-interview on BBC Radio Wales, for the programme Good Evening Wales, on the release of the last book of the Harry Potter series.
Wednesday 8 December 2004: BBC Radio Wales: Good Evening Wales
Radio-interview by BBC Radio Wales, for the programme Good Evening Wales, on J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘invented languages’ and their relationship to the Welsh language.
Newspaper Contributions
Thursday 3 March 2011: The Western Mail
Brief article for The Western Mail on the occasion of World Book Day: ‘Join the Great Chain of Reading and be Inspired’.
Monday 24 November 2008: The Western Mail
Article in The Western Mail, based on interview on my book Tolkien, Race and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits.
Wednesday 8 December 2004: The Western Mail
One-page article in The Western Mail, based on interview on my course on J.R.R. Tolkien at the Cardiff Centre for Lifelong Learning.
Monday 13 January 2003: The Western Mail, and The News of the World
Interview on Tolkien’s ‘invented languages’ and their relationship to the Welsh language, parts of which were quoted in a relevant article in The Western Mail, and in the Welsh Edition of The News of the World.
BBC Radio 4: Archive on 4: Tolkien: The Lost Recordings
Saturday 6th August 2016: Contribution to BBC Radio 4 programme Archive on 4, on Tolkien: The Lost Recordings, a reflection on the 1968 BBC film Tolkien in Oxford, revealing some previously unbroadcast scenes, thought lost.
Listen to this programme here.
BBC Radio Wales: Radio Wales Arts Show: “Celebrating Alice”
Wednesday 2nd December 2015: Contribution to Radio Wales Arts Show on “Celebrating Alice” in the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the publication of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Listen to this programme here.
BBC Radio 2: Simon Mayo Drivetime
Wednesday 11 December 2013: Radio interview on BBC Radio 2 by Simon Mayo on Tolkien, his sources and the tradition of fantasy literature.
Listen to this interview:
BBC Radio 4: Woman’s Hour
Monday 2 July 2007: Radio-interview on BBC Radio 4, for the programme Woman’s Hour, on Food in Literature. Interviewed by Ritula Shah, alongside author Mary Contini, who was short listed for a World Food book award for her first novel Dear Francesca.
Listen to this interview:
BBC Radio Wales: Jamie and Louise Show
Tuesday 20 December 2011: Radio interview on BBC Radio Wales for the Jamie and Louise Show on Christmas in folklore and literature: Mari Lwyd, Hunting the Wren, Siôn Corn, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (including its origin: ‘The Story of the Goblins who stole a Sexton’), Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas in Wales, and Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “In Memoriam”.
Listen to this interview:
BBC Radio Wales: Jamie and Louise Show
Monday 14th March 2011:Radio interview on BBC Radio Wales for the Jamie and Louise Show on Fantasy Literature (its origins, cultural context and its place in the literary canon) on the occasion of Royal Mail’s new series of stamps on Magical Realms.
Listen to this interview:
BBC Radio Wales: Jamie and Louise Show
Friday 12th November 2010: Radio interview on BBC Radio Wales for the Jamie and Louise Show on the 7th Harry Potter film (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1), including actor Steffan Rhodri who played Reg Cattermole in the film.
Listen to this interview:
